Friday, April 19, 2013

Connecticut folk/rock duo Woodsman Orphan are preparing for their latest release, “My Name Is Ishmael Ali.” It will be available on Record Store Day (April 20) as a 12” vinyl through Obscure Me Records. The album was only previously available in a very limited CDR release.

Their music has been described as “freak-folk” with catchy pop hooks and psychedelic guitars. The opening song, “The Barn” and its follow-up “Bethel Cop” sound as if the soul of Neil Young entered their studio. Both tracks seem like long lost outtakes from Young’s “Harvest Moon” album. They expand their folk sound with their experimental “One Year,” before going too far out into space with “Rhinestone.” The album closes with the laid-back vibe of “Through Glass Doors.”

Also from Connecticut come the indie-rockers Johnny Mainstream with their newest release “Ghost Broadway.” This is the band’s second release following their break-out, debut album, “Shipwrecked!” The album was released back in March. After two years of performing live, the music on their new album has a very professional, polished feel.

The band’s energy flows through the punk/pop of “Passing Bell”and “Whiskey For Dinner” and have fun with the lyrics of “No Noise.” The song “Pot Of Gold” with its quick-pace country/rock sound and “Scarecrow” with its mature lyrics are some of the stand out track on this new album. Johnny Mainstream jam on the almost eight-minute “Team Electric” before closing with the acoustic sing-along of “Northern Terminus.”